FORGET the Costa Del Sol - rainy Blackburn will be the destination for tourists from all over Europe if a travel agency in the town gets its way.

Ambitious bosses at Take a Break UK (TABUK) Ltd, based in Cherry Tree, have already attracted visitors to the town from Spain and Italy.

And on their trips abroad to market Blackburn as a holiday destination they actually use the unpredictable weather as a selling point.

Helen Leonardi and Petra Walker had worked abroad for many years in the travel business but, by coincidence, both returned to East Lancashire at the same time.

They met because their children went to the same school and soon discovered they had similar backgrounds.

Before long they had decided East Lancashire was an untapped market which could be a huge attraction for people from the Mediterranean looking to get AWAY from the sun.

After two years of research they set up their own travel agency to fund their trips abroad to market the town. Along with the third partner in the business, Susan Plowman, Helen and Petra have been abroad many times to set up exhibitions promoting East Lancashire.

They are even targeting South Americans as potential visitors to the Blackburn area.

Petra Walker said: "This area has got a lot to offer and, at the moment, it is under-utilised.

"Some tourists pass through Blackburn on their way to places like York from London, but they don't stop. There is a lot of lovely countryside and a lot of heritage to see in this part of the world and I realised that more than ever after spending time abroad.

"We market the fact that it rains a lot and the weather is unpredictable. In many countries if it is raining there is nothing much to do, but here everything is set up to cope with bad weather.

"In November, we had a family come to the area from Majorca. As part of the package, we set up two days for them in London, but after 24 hours they wanted to come back to Blackburn."

The latest visitor was photographer Gianni Godio from Milan, who was in the town at the weekend.

Helen and Petra were this week set to go to Italy in their latest bid to attract tourists to the area.

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